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Trustees

Meet our Trustees

Meet our Trustees

Our Trustees are all volunteers and come from many different walks of life. Find out more about them and what has inspired them to give up their time for the Trust.

David Jordan

David Jordan OBE, Chairman of Council

David is passionate about wildlife and the environment. He has a degree in Environmental Biology and a Masters in Freshwater Ecology. David retired in 2015 following a career in the National Rivers Authority and Environment Agency. As Executive Director of Operations he was responsible for the EA’s operations across England and Wales including pollution control, flood risk management and conservation.

David has worked with Interpol on international environmental crime. He is the Chair of Excellent Development, a charity delivering water conservation in Africa and India.

David has lived in Hampshire for over 20 years and he tries to practice what he preaches including developing a wildlife lake and wildflower meadow (with all of its difficulties!) on his land in France.

Christopher Langford

Christopher Langford, Vice-Chair of Council

Christopher is a Chartered Surveyor who studied Rural Estate Management at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. He was a partner with Carter Jonas and after 45 years as a land agent in the management of rural estates in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Christopher is now a part-time consultant.

Christopher is a Trustee of Marwell Wildlife and a Parish Councillor. As well as being Chairman of the Hampshire Local Access Forum and secretary to the John Edgar Trust, he has been a committee member of the Country Landowners Association’s Hampshire branch and a Duke of Edinburgh Awards trainer. Christopher lives in Avington from where he cycles the countryside including to Southampton to watch football.

Mary Parker, Treasurer

After a history degree at Cambridge and an economics master’s degree from Bristol, Mary began her career as an economist. After qualifying as a chartered accountant she worked for NATS (the air traffic control provider) in a range of financial and management positions. While living in Blackheath, Mary volunteered for Kent Wildlife Trust on nature reserve tasks and then became trustee, chairing Audit Committee and then Conservation Committee, learning about wildlife, ecology and conservation management along the way.

Mary moved to Winchester in 2003 when NATS relocated to Hampshire. Now retired, she volunteers on nature reserve tasks and is a member of the Winchester local group committee. Mary enjoys going on botanical, bird and butterfly outings in Hampshire and elsewhere.

Tim, who lives in Alton, is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and has a MBA from the Open University. For most of his career Tim worked in estate management, UK-wide but particularly on estate issues for the Ministry of Defence across south-east England. Before retiring Tim dealt with a review of the byelaws that allow public access across 150 MoD UK sites.

Tim brings a strong ethos of fairness and effective administration. He has strong sympathies for wildlife conservation within the context of allowing reasonable and managed public access. With interests in the evolution of landscapes and their context in their human environment, Tim has experience and a special interest in seeing previously used sites remediated and returned to nature.

Paul Tyler MBE, Chair of Conservation & Science Committee

Paul left school at 16 to train as a medical laboratory technician, returning to education at 21. His PhD from Swansea University followed a degree in Oceanography and Zoology and Paul then progressed to become Senior Lecturer in Biological Oceanography. In 1988 Paul moved to Southampton University’s Department of Oceanography from where he retired as Professor of Deep-Sea Biology in 2013 and is now Emeritus. Paul has published over 220 papers, completed 60 scientific cruises and been principal scientist for many major international research programmes including that which discovered the first hydrothermal vents in the Southern Ocean.

Paul was awarded an MBE in 2014 for contributions to science. He lives on the western edge of the New Forest.

Helen McCormack, Safeguarding Trustee

Helen has lived in Hampshire since coming to study at Southampton in 1978. After qualifying as a doctor, she specialised in psychiatry and worked as a consultant for over twenty years. Alongside her clinical practice, Helen has worked in managerial positions and at board level as well working nationally with the Department of Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Next to medicine, Helen’s greatest pleasure is in the natural world. She spends as much time outdoors as possible, both in her garden and running and cycling around the local countryside. Now retired, Helen is studying horticulture at college and supports the work of the Trust, particularly with a view to enhancing health and wellbeing through connection with nature.

Jim Bain

Jim Bain

Jim is a recently retired Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He has operated for over 30 years as a Financial Director in the commercial and charitable sector. His roles have ranged from local newspapers, chains of convenience stores, a charity providing support to vulnerable people, being governor of a local higher-education college and a Trustee and advisor to other charities.

Jim lives in South Hampshire, close to where he grew up. He is a keen walker and enjoys the sense of wellbeing that comes with opportunities to access green spaces, both locally and amongst England’s diverse countryside. Having had the advantage of a successful career in finance, Jim looks forward to giving something back to his local community and the Trust.

Lesley Chin

Lesley is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience. She started her career with a national practice, Eversheds, specialising in corporate law. After gaining a good grounding Lesley moved in-house to work in industry. She has spent many years working as a commercial lawyer for technology companies including Agilent Technologies (formerly Hewlett-Packard) and Intel. Lesley is currently General Counsel for a maritime navigation company.

When not working, Lesley is found outside enjoying nature, digging the allotment or riding her horse around the Hampshire countryside, where she has lived for most of her life. With her young family she has spent many happy hours visiting the Trust’s wildlife sites and thoroughly enjoys contributing to the Trust’s work in a professional capacity.

Christopher Collins

Chris has a background in marketing and advertising, having worked for The Economist for many years. In 2005 he set up a communications and business planning consultancy. At this time Chris began devoting more time to his lifelong passion of natural history and conservation including joining The Durrell Conservation Trust’s board. He is currently a Board Director of the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad and sits on the board of Newtrade Publishing.

Chris is a voluntary warden at the Trust’s Noar Hill reserve and undertakes species surveys. He summarises his core values as “getting things done but doing things properly” and believes that good communication is key as well as honesty, integrity and openness to others’ ideas and opinions.

Oliver Cox

Oliver (Olly) completed a Geography degree at Birmingham University before starting his career as an HR management consultant. Olly then joined Vodafone where he has worked for 15 years in international marketing, commercial and strategy roles. He now combines the roles of Chief of Staff to the UK CEO with heading up the company’s Internal Communications.

Olly lives in the South Downs with his young family, spending as much time as possible outside, recreating a garden wildlife haven, enjoying the Hampshire countryside and indulging his lifelong interest in rivers.

Olly is keen to help the Trust grow its commercial and revenue-generating activities and to ensure the Trust is as relevant and connected as possible in an increasingly digital world.

Andrew Lee

An ecology graduate from Aberystywth in 1984, Andrew’s early career was with the Wildlife Trusts, in West Wales and then Sussex, as its Director. He then led the department involved with UK and European issues at WWF as well as being its chief advocate with Government.

Andrew was then CEO of the Sustainable Development Commission for five years until its abolition by the Coalition Government. He joined the South Downs National Park Authority when it went live in 2011 where he is Director of Countryside Policy & Management. This has been a welcome return to local issues and the landscapes and places he loves.

Andrew has lived in Petersfield for 15 years and is a keen photographer and choral singer.

Jane Page

Jane has always been inspired by landscapes and the natural world and welcomes the opportunity as a Trustee to contribute to the conservation of the two counties’ wildlife. Following a degree in psychology and early experience in banking and retail, Jane’s career was in HR Management, with over 30 years working in local government. Her work included personnel management, development initiatives and managing a departmental HR unit. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel.

Jane now supports school leavers as part of the 'Inspiring the Future’ initiative and is also the treasurer and social secretary of a local disabled swimming club. She continues to learn about nature and conservation at home through creating a garden for wildlife.

Matt Prescott

Matt is a sustainability adviser and champion of the creatures and landscapes that don’t fit the conventional mould. Following an Environmental Science Masters from UCL Matt worked in regeneration in Lambeth, responsible for the UK’s largest retrofit green roof and first certified sustainable timber-framed block of flats.

With a lifelong interest in the relationship between people and places Matt has led a policy programme on citizen engagement in climate change at the RSA and advised organisations on sustainability strategy. Gravitating towards big challenges Matt has worked on sustainability in aviation, large-scale biomass for energy and designing health outcomes into regeneration schemes.

A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Matt possesses a stereotypical geographer’s love of maps. He is an avid walker.

Malcolm Sonnex

Malcolm Sonnex

Malcolm is semi-retired, having had an early career in residential estate agency. This was followed by a move to the motor industry where Malcolm became director of a large retail car operation and commercial vehicle company. He now runs his own small business consultancy specialising in sales, customer analysis and research.

Having a lifelong interest in wildlife Malcolm believes that the Trust is in a strong position to make a real difference both locally and at a national level. Living on the edge of Portsmouth Harbour he is well placed to enjoy some of the area’s finest wildlife habitats. He has a particular interest in visiting all types of waterside locations both nearby and countrywide.

Peter Vaughan

Peter has a PhD in microbiology, an MBA from Imperial College and a diploma in environmental conservation from Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Peter’s early career was in biotechnology and then the civil service where his work included advising ministers on politically sensitive investment decisions. Recently Peter has been managing a major pension fund for the nuclear decommissioning industry.

Peter’s lifelong interest is in natural history and conservation. As a committee member of the Trust’s Hart and Rushmoor Group and the Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group he has carried out conservation work, biological surveys and helped run walks and events. Peter advocates evidence‑based decision making coupled with an understanding of working with people.